Evaluation of computed tomography and ultrasound of pancreas in jaundiced and non-jaundiced patients with pancreatic cancer

A retrospective study was performed to find a single best imaging method for pancreatic cancer. In a total of 28 patients, 20 presented with obstructive jaundice and the remaining 8 presented with a mixture of symptoms such as abdominal pain, weight loss and anorexia. 10 of the jaundiced and 5 of the non jaundiced patients had both computed tomography [C.T.] and ultrasound [U.S.] examinations. This study shows that U.S. can be used as a single best modality in patients with obstructive jaundice suspected of pancreatic malignancy. It also shows that C.T. is much superior modality to U.S. in non jaundiced patients with symptoms suggestive of pancreatic malignancy